Entering Chicago House’s Family Support Program (FSP) apartment building, Jae, my fellow Communications Intern, and I were greeted with the welcoming smiles of young faces. The children attending the FSP after-school program had just arrived, so we were asked to help two girls with their homework. They were obviously good friends, and they wisely put […]

Sex-positivity is not an easy concept to explain. However, a clearer understanding emerges once put into practice. Julia Napolitano, an HIV Test Counselor at Chicago House, is a strong advocate for sex-positivity. Julia uses her understandings of the concept in her every day work at the agency. As Julia explains, “[Sex-positivity] is encouraging understandings of […]

By Adolfo Luna Twenty-eight year old Alicia, a transgender woman of color, used to spend her nights on CTA trains to avoid the harsh Chicago winter. One night, while warming up with hot cocoa provided by the Night Ministry’s street outreach van, she met a Chicago House Outreach Worker. With the help of the Outreach […]

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic struck the United States, many people were terrified of this unknown virus. There was little information about how the virus was transmitted, and fear permeated the United States and the world. Due to misinformation and stigma, those who were testing positive for HIV were oftentimes kicked out of their homes and […]